The Needle and Thread of Biddy Mason

In 1856, Briddy Mason walked out of a Los Angeles courtroom a free woman. Born into slavery in Mississippi, she had spent decades tending the sick, delivering babies, and mending what was torn — both fabric and flesh. Now free, she worked as a nurse and midwife, saving every dollar she could. Within a decade, she became one of the first Black women to own property in Los Angeles.…